Yet those who wait for the LORD will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary. (Isaiah 40:31)

This was my daughter’s memory verse from Bible class at church. She recited it for her teacher tonight and received a little pin in the shape of a key that says, “Jesus” on it. It is as though she received the Crown Jewels! She ran up to me the most excited that I have ever seen her (and I’ve seen her pretty excited!) and said, “Mommy! I got the key of Jesus! It unlocks everything…it unlocks love….” And on and on she went, chattering the whole way home. In fact, at one point she even stopped to apologize for talking about her pin because she thought that maybe we thought she was bragging. After assuring her we understood that she was merely excited and not bragging, she continued to cheese all the way home! As a side note, the fact that she was aware that she could have been perceived as bragging was a big step in itself, since we are working on being considerate of others!

Because this has been a difficult insomnia week, I encouraged her to keep the pin in a special memento box near her bed to remind her of how close Jesus is, and how He is watching over her as she sleeps.

Overall, she had a really successful day! She did really well with her memory verse, and watching her words. Additionally, this morning we had her homeschool chorus class. She loves singing and loves her class, and she sang many of the songs from class all afternoon! Also, after class, we went to Whole Foods to pick up some fruit, veggies, and a few ingredients for dinner. She and her older brother were big helpers and you could tell she was proud of herself for contributing.

It’s simple days like this that are the payoff for all the other days that don’t stack up as neatly beside it. I feel blessed!

Photo credit: Marie Stroughter